Many Australian Physicians Not Applying For Permission To Import Mifepristone

18 edition of the Medical Journal of Australia , Melbourne’s Age reports (Nader, Age, 9/18). The use of mifepristone, which when taken with misoprostol can cause a medical abortion, was prohibited in the country until the Federal Parliament in February voted to pass legislation that removed Health Minister Tony Abbott’s authority to veto the importation of it. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration in April announced that it had authorized two Queensland physicians to import and prescribe the drug ( Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 6/15). Mifepristone and misoprostol in combination is considered the best method for a medical abortion, the Age reports. However, Marie Stopes , an abortion provider, is testing methotrexate’s use in medical abortions because of the delays in approval of mifepristone, according to the Age. “There do seem to be more people out there using methotrexate and misoprostol than we were aware of,” Christine Tippet, president-elect of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists , said, adding that the application process to supply mifepristone is complex. According to de Costa, “several hundred [physicians] annually” in the country are administering the methotrexate-misoprostol combination or just misoprostol alone “under the radar.” Both drugs are licensed in the country, and physicians are permitted to use the drugs for purposes for which they are not licensed as long as they are effective and safe, the Age reports (Age, 9/18). According to de Costa, physicians are using the drugs to abort fetuses up to 13 weeks’ gestation in cases when severe fetal abnormalities are detected (de Costa, Medical Journal of Australia, 9/18). This article is republished with kind permission from our friends at the The Kaiser Family Foundation . You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report , search the archives , or sign up for email delivery of in-depth coverage of health policy developments, debates and discussions. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for Kaisernetwork.org , a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . Copyright 2006 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.